A variety of community events will be held at Lone Star College–CyFair this April as part of Alcohol Awareness Month including an essay and poster contest, town hall meeting, discussions and information fair.
Event organizers encourage parents and teens to visit the Barker Cypress campus for the month-long Information Fair as well as to participate in some of the events.
Brochures and information on preventing underage drinking and coping with alcohol recovery among other topics will be available at the Information Fair in the library from April 2 through April 30.
Winning entries from the from the “The Courage to Be Alcohol Free” poster contest and the “The Courage to Change” essay contest will be available for viewing in the library April 4 through April 13.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Southeast Texas is conducting one of four town hall meetings at Lone Star College–CyFair to address the issues of drunk driving, alcohol-related traffic fatalities and underage drinking in Harris County. Of the most populated counties in the United States, Harris County tops the list with more drunk driving deaths per capita than any other. MADD is encouraging residents to attend and commit to eliminating drunk driving and underage drinking. This meeting is set for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. April 3 in the conference center.
A panel discussion, titled “Alcohol: The Legal Drug” is set for April 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the College Center. Participate in this session to learn how alcohol use is seen as a socially acceptable “right of passage” for young adults and how to know when alcohol use threatens health, relationships, lifestyle, and employment. Get answers from alcohol addiction counselors and health professionals.
Two activities are set April 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in College Center. First there is an activity for honoring and remembering loved ones affected by alcohol abuse. Attendees can decorate a flag to display in the library to celebrate recovery from alcoholism, to encourage those who still struggle with the disease or to remember those special people whose lives were cut short by drunk driving.
Secondly, there will be a video and discussion titled “Alcohol’s Devastating Effects on Women: Don’t Become an Alcohol Victim.” Attendees will see how alcohol affects women differently than men in an ABC News 20/20 video and then can discuss their reactions.
In a fast-paced game show with prizes held in the college center, learn “What You Do/Don’t Know about Drinking” and how to make wise choices about alcohol use from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 18.
The film “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio” will be shown at 1:30 p.m. April 25 in the Recital Hall, ART 102, with a discussion to follow. This critically-acclaimed film stars Julianne Moore as a mom trying to keep her family fed and clothed by entering and winning contests as her alcohol husband “drinks away his paycheck.”
The month of activities ends with a discussion titled “Teens and Alcohol: Not Just a Rite of Passage” set for 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. April 26 in the library, room 131. Participate in this discussion on teen alcohol use with other parents and teens facilitated by an alcohol addiction counselor. Part of the discussion will cover points from the book, “From Binge to Blackout,” written by a mother and son about the son’s alcohol abuse. NOTE: It’s not necessary to have read the book in advance of the session, but the Harris County Public Library has copies to request and check out.
For information on this month of activities, go to cyfair.lonestar.edu/goto/alcoholawareness.